Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-09-15
Jonah. the Contrabana.

VIVA *hiSiioel, tEe uuBel OF WIZ.
Jonah, the Contraband.
General Banks army left Alexandria,
La, on its retreat to the Mississippi in
May, 1864, and few days previous
the subject of this sketch was intro
duced to me, then an infantry Captain,
who had been for some time servant
less. The Orderly Sergeant one morn
ing thrust his head into my tent and
said with something like grin that
some of the boys who had been out
foraging had brought in fellow that
would suit me. I went out-and Jonah
was before me.
Would that could faithfully photo.
graph him. With all my experience with
the negro race in Louisiana, this was
the queerest specimen OF it that had
seen. No exaggerated picture on the
posters of minstrel troupe ever SIR
passed him in what I may call real
oAttd1ldislness. He was black; to
say that he was dark does not convey
an adequate idea of his complexion.
His hair was kinked all over his head
in stubborn knots; his lips turned up
ward and downward in rich pout; his
white teeth and eyeballs cleaned from
their dusky surroundings. He was tall,
lank, loose-jointed, long earned, and with
such hands and feet as have never vet
been modelled. A great plantation
straw hat covered his head; his feet
were bare; he wore q suit of striped
cotton, and carried small bundle in
his hand. His unique appearance had
attracted u dozen of the company to
the spot, and they stood by, ready for
fun.
But Jonah was all business. He had
been house servant on plantation
up the Red River; the appearance of
our army had frightened away his "ole
mas'r" and scattered the negroes.
Some gone dis way, some dat" was
his own language MS to what had fol-
lowed. "Some gone down de ribber to
list in de Cordy Freak. Some loafs
about in de woods and de fields. AM
some follows yo' army. Use one OBJ
dem last. likes de milit'ry, and Use
goin' along wild yo'. Dat is, ii I can be
servant OBJ captain"
There was certain originality as
well as grotesqueness about the fellow,
that captivated me at once. For the
purpose of hearing his amusing talk,
encouraged him to go on.
@Why, wouldn't you be servant to
any less officer than captain?"
"My ole mas'r was man oh quality,
an Pse got to keep up de dignity"
But do you know what it is to be
servant in the army? Won't you be
frightened when you hear firing?n
70, yo' nebber fear foh Jonah! Hab
heard de big guns go off befo', when
all de darkies ran away, an Jonah ies'
stood latin at 'em. Dat was up to old
mas'r's house, when de big shells come
whoop-whoop -screech-screechl u
whish, aChish, -sh-sh l-troo
de trees, and dc boys all shake, an
say he say, Where dat niggah? Where
dat niggah?'"
His own broad laughter at the remi-
niscence would have been irresistible of
itself, but his imitation of the peculiar
whistle and scream of O fuse-shell was
80 life-like that he drew chorus of
approving mirth and comment from the
listening group of soldiers.
But I'm afraid, Jonah, that if I take
you you will treat me as the others
have done. You'll find the marching
too hard, and you will leave me of a
sudden, as they did.
"No, sab; I won't! Yo' jes' trus'
Jonah for dat. When he say he go,
he will go; an he stick by yo'. too
The result was that the lad (he could
not have been twenty was duly in
stalled; and candor compels me to say
that the man Friday of the grentest of
all stories of adventure was not more
faithful to his master than was
Jonah to me. Down the Red and the
Mississippi to our camp at Morganzia
he followed the army in that exciting
march, in the sultry weather and the
dust. When the Nineteenth Corps
took ship and went to sea under sealed
orders for some unknown destination
in the following month, Jenah steadily
refused to remain in his native Louisi-
ana. He had "joined de army" and
was bound to Ego along wild yo' all. {"
Through that eventful summer, on our
toilsome marches over the hills of
Maryland and up and down the She
nandoah Valley, when officers and SOL
diers fell behind from exhaustion,
Jonah never faltered. Conveying the
Captains blankets and coffee-pot, he
trudged all day lar at the rear with the
camp-followers. But, half an hour
after the halt for the night he was cer-
tain to appear at company headquar-
ters, full of good-humor and descrip-
tion of what he had seen during the
day, and set himself to work to pre-
pare supper.
He could neither read nor write, and
after several patient efforts had been
made by some of the soldiers to teach
him, he gave up the study for a bad
job, philosophicalIy remarking:
"Nebber saw no use in um for Mig
gah, nohow."
The men among whom he was thrown
at first attempted to make butt of
him; but his quickness and his native
WIT soon made them cautious of trying
any Jokes on him, for he was sure to
get more than even, in the end, with
the person venturing it. His fund of
droilerY and histalent for mimicry soon
became the entertainment Of the whole
company. He was quick to seize upon
any marked peculiarly Of speech or